We've gotten a lot of hands-on experience with Public Relations throughout our Mass Comm careers so far, but we often don't stop and think about how often PR is really used. So to illustrate a good example of everyday public relations, I attended the Digital Bridges Open House last week. They did a great job of promoting their event through Facebook events, posting it on their individual Facebooks, word of mouth, Twitter, etc. The event itself had PR written all over it. They used tactics to get people to attend such as free pizza, wings, and refreshments, and free jump drives to the first 100 guests. There were informational handouts for various community events and programs, as well as a knowledgeable group of PR students to answer any questions. These promotional methods made for a highly successful event. There were so many people in attendence, and I'm pretty sure everyone enjoyed themselves. (especially the icecream bar!) Take a look at the video and see "PR in Action" for yourself!
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
2010 Athletic Auction- How'd We Do???
I never thought I'd see the day that all of our hard work payed off and we actually saw the auction come together, but we did, and it was awesome. This past Saturday was the night that all the long hours and frustrations and commitment came together and we put on a night for our guests to remember. So how'd we do overall?
Strengths
-We had a committed team who has worked together on various projects in the past.
-We had different people with different skills that could bring their individual talents to the table.
-We had a sufficient amount of time to think the whole thing through and come up with some great ideas.
-We had the support of the athletic department and the school.
-We had many contacts that were able to help donate and help (easels, the mural, the singers, etc.)
-We had a large space to work with and room to have large, statement-making props such as the mural and the stage.
Weaknesses
-We only had a budget of $1,000 to work with.
-We had a limited amount of time for actual WORK DAYS, even though we had a lot of time to brainstorm ideas.
-It was our first big event and the whole thing was a learning process for all of us.
-Schedules were sometimes hard to mesh. The fact that this fell during Masters week (which I worked an excessive amount of hours for) and Greek Week meant that we all had to work our schedules and come up with times for all of us to meet outside of class. The crazy schedule also meant all of us were tired and stretched thinly, which can make it hard to be productive.
-Although we had a large space to work with, the space was, after all, an athletic gym, which took some thinking to transform it into a more elegant space.
Opportunities
-This gave us a great jumping off point for future events. I think we all really proved ourselves.
-This auction is a huge, high dollar event that will look great on our resumes, and hopefully open doors for us in the future.
-There were many people at the auction who sought the Dream Team out and complimented us on our work. Who knows what kind of contacts and networking can occur through the guests that were there?
Threats
-As I stated before, Greek Week and Masters week were during this same time. Conflicting schedules not only for us but for prospective guests to the event could be a huge threat.
-People could be unaware of what a great night the auction really is, and choose to do something they consider more fun instead.
-People may not want to spend the money to come to this event because of the tough economic times.
-People from other schools may feel competition with GC&SU and not feel compelled to donate money to our athletics programs.
These are just some of my thoughts on the whole experience, but I feel that overall, the event was a huge success. We worked so hard to pull this off and I appreciate every single person on our team! I can't think of a better group of people to work with. Great job guys!
Friday, April 2, 2010
Game Assessment
1. My event was the GCSU Senior Athletic Ceremony which I planned in conjunction with Brittni Collins. We had the intention to make the night a little more "special" by having certificates for the teachers recognized, a reception for them with the Bobcat Club, and just overall having the night planned completely so it ran smoothly and was the best yet. However, we had some trouble nailing down a final list of athletes and faculty so it made the planning process a little difficult. Al Weston was a big help to us in the process though, as he sent us a list of names updated every time he got the word. We basically just took the initiative to make nice certificates for the faculty and make sure everyone was lined up and ready to head out on the court when their name was called. We heard positive feedback from many people that, while we felt that we could have done a better job organizing and planning, the ceremony was a huge success.
2. I do feel that the event was a success. There were a decent amount of people at our game, but what I was most proud of was that the majority of athletes and faculty involved in the ceremony did show up and participate. Many who had been a part of Senior Night in the past let us know that this year's ceremony was much more organized than it has been in previous years. I felt good overall knowing that we worked well with the information and timeline we were given.
3. The most important thing that I took away from this event was not to rely on other people to get you the information you need. Relying on others often leads to things falling through the cracks and miscommunication. If you need something done, it's best to take the initiative, be proactive, and find out for yourself.
4. The only thing I would have wanted to do over is to get the names of people sooner so that everything wasn't so last minute. However, I feel that in this particular situation, it was beyond our control and we did a good job of improvising and working well at the last minute to pull it all together.
5. I would give Brittni and myself an A for this game, simply because it was a success, and because we learned from this experience how to handle a situation if a client isn't really on the same page as far as time restraints, etc. We worked with what we were given and still pulled it off flawlessly.
6. To keep Mean in Green alive, I think it's important that our PR class continue promoting it through Facebook events, word of mouth, attending games, etc. as long as we are at GCSU. I also hope that the next PR Writing and Admin classes will continue our efforts. The cheerleaders and athletes themselves also have a big responsibility to help spread the school spirit. We need to come up with a cheer or have the cheerleaders do so in order to keep the spirit alive and the crowd involved. Let's face it, we have really made Mean in Green a huge success since its conception. We need to continue selling shirts and pushing the brand through any GCSU memorabilia that we can. It's just too great to let it die out.
LONG LIVE MEAN IN GREEN!
2. I do feel that the event was a success. There were a decent amount of people at our game, but what I was most proud of was that the majority of athletes and faculty involved in the ceremony did show up and participate. Many who had been a part of Senior Night in the past let us know that this year's ceremony was much more organized than it has been in previous years. I felt good overall knowing that we worked well with the information and timeline we were given.
3. The most important thing that I took away from this event was not to rely on other people to get you the information you need. Relying on others often leads to things falling through the cracks and miscommunication. If you need something done, it's best to take the initiative, be proactive, and find out for yourself.
4. The only thing I would have wanted to do over is to get the names of people sooner so that everything wasn't so last minute. However, I feel that in this particular situation, it was beyond our control and we did a good job of improvising and working well at the last minute to pull it all together.
5. I would give Brittni and myself an A for this game, simply because it was a success, and because we learned from this experience how to handle a situation if a client isn't really on the same page as far as time restraints, etc. We worked with what we were given and still pulled it off flawlessly.
6. To keep Mean in Green alive, I think it's important that our PR class continue promoting it through Facebook events, word of mouth, attending games, etc. as long as we are at GCSU. I also hope that the next PR Writing and Admin classes will continue our efforts. The cheerleaders and athletes themselves also have a big responsibility to help spread the school spirit. We need to come up with a cheer or have the cheerleaders do so in order to keep the spirit alive and the crowd involved. Let's face it, we have really made Mean in Green a huge success since its conception. We need to continue selling shirts and pushing the brand through any GCSU memorabilia that we can. It's just too great to let it die out.
LONG LIVE MEAN IN GREEN!
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